Spinning bikes to be used to promote healthy activities

Itascatur has donated 10 spinning bikes to Park Rapids Century School to be used by students and the community.
“The mission of Itascatur is to promote healthy, outdoor activities,” said Itascatur treasurer Maurice Spangler.
The ski, bike and run club organizes events throughout the year with proceeds typically going toward maintenance of the Soaring Eagle ski trails north of Park Rapids.
“We had some extra money and thought spinning bikes would help people continue training throughout the year,” Spangler added.
He and Arlette Van Wyhe, another Itascatur member, found a great deal on some refurbished spinning bikes and needed a place to have them set up. The 10 bicycles cost $4,200.
They contacted the school and discovered administrators and staff were excited to use the bicycles.
“This is such a great opportunity for our school,” said Century principal Joleen DeLaHunt.
Century middle school physical education teacher Aarin Galski jumped on the idea as soon as she heard about it. She is in the middle of reworking the physical education curriculum and said spinning bikes would be a great addition.
“We’ll be able to add a wellness unit on top of cardio,” Galski said.
Students have tried out the bicycles but will have some more lessons before incorporating them into a lesson plan.
The plan is to also have spinning classes open to the general public before or after school hours through Community Education.
“It will be great to have this available in the winter for training,” Van Wyhe said. “Many triathletes aren’t able to work much on the biking portion of their training in the winter.”
Some open houses will be available for the community to try out the bicycles and find out more information. Classes are being planned for later this spring.